and reading over old love-letters" could be indulged in, the steamer has nothing to offer. The toil is "soul-killing and mind-destroying; there is no time for study or recreation; singing and dancing are unknown." In port the work of loading or discharging goes on night and day," Sunday or Monday, Christmas or any other day." steamer. No day is held sacred in the modern freight of Africa can be seen ships flying the British ica and the lynching of prisoners without due trial. Further we are told: Democracy, as interpreted in America, tends to make Jack believe that he is as good as his master. Well, aboard ship Jack never was, and between master and man can never exist if disnever will be, as good as his master. Familiarity cipline is to be maintained. .. The TomDick-and-Harry style of addressing men so dear for a moment. The line of demarcation beto American ideas of democracy will not hold tween the men abaft the mast and those before must be respected. Our writer comes to the conclusion, taking into consideration the lovable cussedness of the native-born American, his absolute contempt for the law and rule by moral force, his very often mistaken notions of true democracy, and the conditions under which the modern steamboat sailormen lives, that there seems little possibility of the American ever being licked into shape as a man before the mast in the present-day freight steamer. Characterizing the negro as a good coastBut the most serious obstacle to the pro- ing sailor, but as a rank failure when on duction of seamen by America, in the view of foreign voyages, and discussing the chances the "British Marine Officer," seems to be of a supply of seamen for our ships from that obedience to those in authority is an England, Germany, and Scandinavia (Norelement sadly lacking in the make-up of the way and Sweden), the three typical mariAmerican character. "Judged from a Eu- time countries, the "British Marine Offiropean standpoint," he says, Americans are cer" sums up his observations with the declathe most lawless people among civilized ration of his belief that the future American nations." The American as an individual mercantile marine will be manned chiefly seems to demand that his recognition of by Scandinavians and officered by New Engthe law should have the force of a police- land men." The latter, he says, are "born man's club at the back of it." Reference to command or to hold positions of authoris also made to the forcing of jails in Amer- ity." MODERN STATECRAFT WEIGHED IN BALANCE WHY The elder Ibsen in his lifetime made the shortcomings of society the theme for nearly all the plays that came from his pen during the last twenty years of his activity. But he went at it with the poet's point of view. He showed the cramping influence of the ills As a one-time when and how the machinery of government fected by modern culture. We had an instance fails to respond. of this last winter when we received the news of the Franco-German entente with reference Science, both abstract and in its application, art, literature, industry, are making constant progress, says Dr. Ibsen. It is out of the question that within these domains development could be towards a more primitive stage. Political changes on the other hand do not always make for advancement. Development in our political systems may indeed be along reactionary lines. Science, art, literature, in what they produce generally afford the highest expression of contemporaneous culture. Political systems, on the other hand, have only exceptionally reached even a relative degree of perfection. In the minds of enlightened people in any age there generally has existed a clear consciousness of what government should be which has been far ahead of the existing practice and has constituted the sole guarantee for future reforms in the methods of government. Then the contrast is presented. How could there have been any substantial advancement in science and in art if the scientist and artist had contented themselves with merely following in the footsteps of even the enlightened layman? Fortunately for art and science, and fortunately for humanity, the writer says, it is the artist and the scientist who set the pace in every reach for higher levels with the rest of humanity following. But in the field of politics one depends upon that consciousness which makes for all progress to grow spontaneously in the lay mind, and it is from such lay opinion all initiative emanates, while those who should be the pacemakers follow often reluctantly. Dr. Ibsen can see the "Kulturkampf " extending into the domain of politics, but declares it would be an error to ascribe this to any exaggerated demands on the part of the governed of to-day. The problems involved are such that they should no longer be regarded as problems. If for all that they are still awaiting solution this fact alone goes to show how imperfect our systems of government are when it comes to practice. . . In countries that are backward in culture the governed are grateful if the leading men in the state do not commit too many blun . to Morocco, and it became plain at once that without reason a war cloud had hung over Eu rope for years which time and time again had threatened to discharge its thunders. For the treaty did not contain a single clause which might not have been agreed upon when the differences first arose. Diplomacy at last had adjusted itself,-to what? To nothing but an order of things that could not in common sense have been otherwise. The European press admitted this, but nevertheless gave vent to eulogy, loud and long, because, as the newspapers said again and again, this latest diplomatic attainment involved a victory for "common sense." . . If one should venture to felicitate a poet or an explorer on the ground that his attainments give evidence of common sense," I imagine it would be accepted as a very dubious compliment. The slim progress made at The Hague is brought forward as another instance where diplomacy has fallen woefully short of its mission. The desire for universal peace and the propaganda for disarmament never were greater and, yet, at the beginning of the twentieth century the danger of war is not less remote than at any earlier period in the world's history. It is always in the air, as every one might have convinced himself a little while ago when the Balkan imbroglio came near setting Europe afire, though not one of the great powers desired or was prepared for war. what is termed conveniently "the situation," and In international politics we are subjected to What we are so accustomed to this that we take it for granted without giving a thought to the fact that it lays bare the weakness of our political would be the verdict on a railroad management machinery in the most pitiless manner. which would permit such an unknown and uncertain quantity as "the situation" to remain a permanent factor in the conduct of its traffic? foresight can devise is applied for the protecEverything that human ingenuity and human tion of human life and merchandise in transit. Our age insures itself against chance in every domain. Does it not seem a little topsy-turvy, this notion that when the welfare of an entire nation is at stake one must trust to luck for the issue? Again Dr. Ibsen, applying his method of analysis and his mode of argument to the economic branch of government, weighs modern statecraft in the balance and finds it wanting. All is confusion. The product, through lack of government regulation, has established a tyranny over the producer. Governmental action is limited to groping ders or cause too many costly complications. In more advanced nations it is regarded as quite satisfactory if the system of government but reflects the average view on governmental wisdom, harbored by the lay mind. As might be expected, this is most apparent in international social-economic legislation, characterized by politics, the branch which has been least af- the crudest empiricism." The laissez-faire 66 principle obtains everywhere. This is in direct conflict with every principle of civilization which demands systematization to the end that a practical regulation of the conditions of human life may be attained. The demand that we pass from chaos to order is universal. The trusts are one expression of this demand. Socialism, though sprung from different motives, is another. These, in other respects so divergent movements, may be regarded as two gangs of laborers which, each from its end, is engaged in the task of boring a tunnel through a mountain of governmental stupidity. Dr. Ibsen holds that all imperfections in the existing order of society have their origin in that consideration, not to say reverence, for power which has been implanted in man through centuries of enforced practice and which has made power an object worth seeking for its own sake. In centuries gone by, power sat enthroned, self-sufficient and offering no apology. In these latter days, with the advance of civilization, even power has begun to grow embarrassed with its own nakedness, and is looking about for garments of justice. In international politics this garb of justice and morality is limited to the traditional fig-leaf of respectability. The writer holds that the true aim of statecraft is not to make a nation powerful but to make a people happy. Power he regards as a permanent institution, however. Even History bows to it. Witness her verdict on kings in exile and generals in defeat. There is one feature of Dr. Ibsen's article that at first glance might be deemed inconsistent with his plea for universal happiness. This is his defense of slavery. It must be acknowledged that slavery was an evil necessary in the interest of culture where industry depended on manual labor alone and where consequently production was too scant to afford more than a frugal subsistence. For, inasmuch as culture calls for a certain degree of prosperity and the leisure that goes with prosperity, and it is better that culture should thrive with one class than not at all,-it must be reclass should be kept down and another class fagarded as in the interest of progress that one vored at its expense so that at least those privileged few may exercise the functions of history and civilization. Dr. Ibsen announces that he has in view another installment which will contain the outline of a constructive program. SOCIALIST GAINS IN THE GERMAN ELECTIONS THE great Socialistic victories in the recent German elections, in some instances utterly unexpected, form the main topic of discussion both in the general and in the Socialist press of the Fatherland. All sides concede that the increase in the Socialist vote is to a large degree a protest against the burden imposed by the so-called financial reforms which the government forced the bloc in the Reichstag to vote in order that it should be able to build more Dread energy and propaganda. In respect of the ef- This Socialist success reveals an evil which should provide the Conservatives and National Liberals plenty of food for thought. Is it not terrible that these two parties should not be able to inspire their adherents with the same spirit of self-sacrifice, and with the same sense of their political duty as the Social Democracy? In every part of Germany where elections noughts. And so we witness a spectacle, very were held, the Socialist gains were marked. rare in Germany, of one of the most popular But the most important elections took place Conservative papers, the Reichsbote, turning in Saxony, Baden, and in Berlin, and it is against its own political leaders and denounc- in those places, therefore, that the results ing the exorbitant budget. It had the alternative of incurring the displeasure of its political protagonists or losing in circulation, and it bravely chose the less expensive of the two evils. However, the budget does not seem to account for all, and the Dresdener Nachrichten, the leading Conservative sheet of Saxony, has this to say by way of explanation and warning: Let us be honest. The great successes won by the Social Democracy are due in the last instance to her splendid organization and tireless appear most striking. In Saxony the Socialists elected twenty-five members to the Landtag. Previously they had but one seat. The Baden Landtag now has twenty Socialist delegates, a gain of eight. The Berlin Socialists added three to their representation in the Prussian Landtag, and almost doubled their vote of last year. The most interesting situation is presented by Saxony, where the plural system of voting was tried for.the first time. This system was designed with a view to keeping down the Socialist vote, and if it proved satisfactory it was to be introduced in Prussia and elsewhere. The plural system hits hardest at the Socialist vote, because it gives an additional vote to every person with a taxable income of 1600 marks, more votes for more property, and another vote for a high school or university education. As Socialism draws its chief strength from factory workmen and general laborers there were few Socialist voters who could cast three or four votes for their party. In view of this fact it is extremely remarkable that the Conservatives and National Liberals who chiefly profit by this system lost so heavily to the Socialists. From a party who with their forty-six members controlled an absolute majority in the Saxony Landtag, they were reduced to a minority party with but twenty-eight representatives. At the regular election they won only twelve seats, and it was due to the as sistance which the Liberals and in some instances even the Freisinnige gave to the Conservatives in the by-election that they succeeded in obtaining sixteen more. The Landtags of Saxony and Baden are now constituted as follows: Numerically the Socialist party in Saxony leads with its 489,427 votes as against the 338,043 of the National Liberals, who follow second in rank. What that would have meant under a system of equal suffrage is explained by Hermann Fleissner in an article in Die Neue Zeit: With one vote for each man all the opposing parties combined would scarcely have elected more than twelve of their candidates. This may be seen by taking one of the cities as an example. In the seven election districts of Leipzig the Socialists had 62,856 votes, and all the other parties combined 85,121. The number of Social Democratic voters, however, was 38,726, while that of all the other parties was only 28,314. Applying this ratio to the entire kingdom of Saxony there were 305,892 Socialist voters to 260,897 of all the other parties together. It is very probable, therefore, that the Social Democracy would have received an absolute majority of all the votes. Discussing the probable effect of the election results on the politics of Saxony, Fleiss ner says: The Liberal and Socialist representatives in the Landtag form a two-thirds majority. They are, therefore, able to pass legislation without the aid of the Conservatives. That they will do so in some instances is by no means unlikely. For example, they both favor a redivision of the election districts. If this is done properly in conformity with the required changes, the position of the Conservatives will be still further weakened. In any event, the Social Democracy will for the first time constitute an important factor in the Saxony Parliament. From a mere personal point of view the new Landtag will have quite a different complexion. Many of the most prominent members of the Saxony chamber have dropped out. Dr. Meinert, for many years its president and leading intellect of the agrarians, the so-called uncrowned King of Saxony, has been called to the upper chamber. IS SANE AND HONEST JOURNALISM POSSIBLE? independent newspaper which treats its reader not as a child nor a sage, neither as a hero nor a fool, but as a person to be taught tactfully to stand upon his own feet,-a paper which gives the Senator and the shopgirl what they both want to read and are the better for reading." IT is, we think, one of the most hopeful signs of the times in regard to the newspaper press that editors and journalists are found willing to admit that there is much to be desired in the way of reform in the daily sheets that bring into our homes the records of the world's doings. From time to time, and at no great intervals either, such queries One of the most useful contributions to are propounded as "Is an honest newspaper the literature of the subject appeared in the possible?" "What does the public want in November issue of the American Journal of its daily press?" and in every case the reply Sociology, from the pen of " An Independent is given that not only is an honest journal Journalist," the question discussed being "Is possible but that the public would welcome an honest and sane newspaper press posit, and that what the country is waiting for sible? This writer takes the position that is, in the words of a New York editor, an "the American newspaper of to-day has se rious vices, faults, and shortcomings, as well its opinions and to its own interpretation of as great virtues; that it has gained in some facts; but the public is, above all, entitled to directions, improved some of its work, and the facts,-to the truth." And however true lost in other directions." "The it may be that there is no juster court than enlightened public opinion, it is self-evident that "public opinion cannot become enlightened, and discussion cannot be profitable where the press perverts, distorts, suppresses, juggles with the facts." He says: same newspaper arouses your enthusiasm at one time so that you write, or are tempted to write, to the editor warmly thanking him for his noble efforts, and provokes your anger and disgust at another time, so that you are ready to denounce it at the breakfast-table as a poisoner of the public mind and an enemy of decency and truth." Citing the statement that only generous endowment could enable a great newspaper to be true to its highest ideals,—to be honest in all things, to tell the truth boldly, to eschew sensationalism and vulgarity,' and alluding to the fact that wealthy philanthropists have been urged to establish an "exemplary," a "model newspaper, An Independent Journalist" (for brevity's sake, hereafter referred to in this article as A. I. J.) asks "Cannot, then, the ordinary commercial newspaper rise to and maintain itself on the highest plane?" He then proceeds to discover "what ails the average 'big' commercial newspaper," purposely using the word "big" for the following reason: No one who is familiar with the American daily press will deny that we have a number of local or small newspapers that are as excellent as human institutions can be. That is, there are newspapers that publish only news fit to print; that never deliberately falsify or misrepresent; that have convictions and the courage to apply them to the events, issues, and personali ties of the day; that employ competent and self-respecting reporters and correspondents and, consequently, are well written from first page to last and that are read by educated persons with pleasure and profit. This being the case, cannot the big newspapers be equally clean, sensible, and upright?" A. I. J. frankly states that one of the vices of the big newspapers is what is called faking." Faking assumes many forms, some of which are base and profoundly immoral, while all of them are offensive and inexcusable." A little honesty and intelligence on the part of the reporters and special writers would render it totally unnecessary; for while "the public does prefer the dramatic, the romantic, the extraordinary," it does want the truth. Another and a more serious newspaper vice, one of which public-spirited men and women complain most bitterly, is the dishonest treatment in the news columns of political, industrial, social, and other "contentious subjects." Now, a newspaper "is entitled to The influence of the powerful advertisers on the press is, says A. I. J., "thoroughly pernicious." demand either silence or positive championship of their side of a question. There are theatrical managers who will not tolerate adverse criticisms of their productions, and who actually There are dictate dismissals of writers. brewers who drop newspapers for what they consider excessive devotion to prohibition or law and decency. There are corporations that will not give any "business" to papers that are fair and impartial in their treatment of labor unions, of strikes, of injunctions. There are dairy interests that will promptly visit their displeasure on editors who can see no justice in a high tax on oleomargarine that is honestly . . The labeled and sold for what it is. fundamental trouble is that too many news There are advertisers who do not hesitate to papers are actually at the mercy of advertisers. The advertisers, too, often feel that they are subsidizing certain newspapers, that they are not getting the full worth of their money in returns, and, of course, subsidizers have rights. of the case, it remains true that newspapers are Making, however, full allowance for this aspect not as independent, as consistent, as courageous as they might be. As to sanity and efficiency in the handling of matter generally, A. I. J. observes: “ The yellow newspapers have had a terribly demoralizing effect on the presentation of news and its display. Everything is sacri ficed to liveliness." Crazy, silly, and grotesque headlines are employed; and reporters, special writers, and critics become addicted to what has been called the "catastrophic" style,-straining after bold, picturesque, impressive language. Then, again, the advertising columns of many newspapers call loudly for an overhauling and a cleansing. Newspapers, like builders of tenements, like money-lenders, must manage to live without fostering or breeding immorality and dishonesty." A. I. J. believes that in a policy of honesty and sanity for our newspapers there would be no permanent loss. Temporary loss there might be; but in the end independence, intelligence, reasonable courage, integrity, and efficiency would bring their reward in journalism as in everything else. The newspapers' motto should be "Trust the public." |